Henry Katz was born on Bastille Day, July 14, 1914.  He had a very sad childhood marked by the early death of his mother and a life of poverty and foster care. During the 'Great Depression' my dad worked at a number of jobs but the one he spoke to me about was as an ice delivery boy.  Poor dad always had to deliver his ice load to the upper floors of the tenements of the 'Lower East Side"  that he serviced.  His meals frequently consisted of  some pickle juice,  a few slices of onion and 'day old' bread. His father eventually remarried and the family of four brothers and two sisters were reuniuted in poverty.

        He subsequently worked in a factory manufacturing ladies' handbags.  It was this career that my father pursued most of his adult life with only limited financial success.
 

Molly Katz was born August 10.......a number of years after Henry.  We're really not allowed to talk about Mom's age! Suffice it to say that a whirlwind courtship culminated in an elopement that was kept secret from my maternal grandparents until their deaths. A proper wedding took place after the secret wedding and "they lived happily ever after".            Molly was the daughter of Ralph and Esther Cantos, Greek Jewish immigrants who like so many others, arrived in the United States after the turn of the century.  They could neither read, write nor speak English.  But they were accustomed to hard work and determined to succeed in their new country.  My mom had two sisters and one brother, Manny, Regina and Annette.          I think this is the earliest picture I have of my parents taken when my dad had plenty of hair.

 
My parents had two sons, Ronnie and me, Neil.  My brother Ronnie tragically died in an auto accident while in the U.S. Navy.  He served aboard an aircraft carrier and cruised the Mediterranean during the year prior to his death.

Esther and Ralph Cantos are pictured here on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary taken  in Miami Beach, Florida.

	Henry and Molly Katz lived in a series of houses and apartments in Brooklyn.  Early on, they lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut.           They lived in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn until the late 40's.  Then on to East Flatbush and finally to series of apartments on Ocean Avenue near Prospect Park.          Henry continued to work as a ladie's handbag manufacturer and contractor and had a small factory on Rockaway Avenue in Brooklyn.           Mollie had a beauty parlor for awhile and worked as a manicurist in some of New York's most exclusive men's hair salons.  She worked at the Friar's Club for a number of years and then at a men's hair salon closer to home.          Here are my folks in their apartment in Flatbush in the mid sixties.

 

My folks really enjoyed the Catskill mountains and especially enjoyed bungalow colony life. Every summer we would pack up the car and head north to "the mountains"          I guess I learned my barbeque skills from my dad.  Here, he is pictured in the mid 1970's getting the coals hot and waiting for the hotdogs, hamburgers and steaks.          But his favorite past times in the country was a good card game or and evening at the track.

 

Of course, if my dad could get to Las Vegas or to the Bahamas for some gambling, he didn't mind that either.  Here are the two of us at the Crystal Palace in the 1980's enjoying some time together.          This was a lucky long weekend for my dad.  He onlly left the craps table to eat or to see a show.  He was HOT!!          He made me even and left  Paradise Island with about $ 600 in winnings after paying all the bills!          Now that was a very successful trip and a memory I will always treasure.
	When you are retired and living in Florida, you get to go on plenty of cruises.  They're the best vacation buy anywhere. You get to eat and eat and eat....early and late breakfast followed by brunch and then lunch.  This is followed by several afternoon snacks and then dinner.  And then the food continues until the midnight buffet.  Befoire you know it,  it's early breakfast.  Oy Vey!!          But you didn't find my folks in the dining room. They played cards until the casino opened and then you would find mom at the blackjack table for sure.  Dad would be in the next seat or at the craps table pressing his bets whenever he was ahead.
Mom and Dad took their prized possession - the grandchildren on a cruise to N.Y.C. one summer. There was actually a ship that sailed from Miami to N.Y.C. and took your car. From the city, it is only a two hour drive to the bungalow resorts of Sullivan County.           Here are Ronnie, Eric and Jonathan with my folks on their way to New York City and a summer of fun in the Catskills.

 
 

Pictured in these two photos are my Aunt Tessie and Uncle Harry.  My Aunt Tessie is my Dad's older sister and the only living sibling  from my dad's generation.   My aunt and uncle still live in New Jersey where they toiled in the grocery  business in Teaneck.  They had the best home made potato salad and cole slaw in the northeast. My cousins Natalie and Judy are very lucky to have such great folks.  My dad sure loved his sister.   Tessie and Harry pictured a few years ago enjoying the surf.